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Do I Need a Website?

It’s 2015, so it’s generally a safe assumption to say you need a website. As a web design agency, we’re, of course biased to tell you that you need a website. But unlike other agencies, I’m going to say something a little different – unless you know why you need a website, you shouldn’t purchase a website!

Sounds strange coming from a web company right? Well, that’s because we’re not a typical ‘web company’, we actually see ourselves as providing online business solutions. What this means is, we don’t just want to build a great looking website and have it sit there looking pretty and doing nothing for your business. To quote countless rappers, “If it don’t make money, it don’t make sense” – we care about making you a solution that generates revenue and has a strong positive impact on your business.

But back to the original question, ‘Do I need a website’? Well let’s look at some reasons why people do need websites.

Selling Online

If you sell online, having a website is a must. While you can sell via other channels, such as eBay, you’re putting yourself directly up against your competition, and giving shoppers the chance to shop purely on price and compare you against your competitors purely on this attribute. With your own website, you have a captured market and are competing with no-one. You also have the ability to capture leads for a newsletter, drive traffic from more places (such as paid ads and SEO) and have complete control over the transaction.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t sell on other channels too – eBay and similar sites can be very powerful for putting your brand out into the market (if you’re selling a physical product), but it’s a powerful complement to your website.

If you want to sell services online, then it is absolutely critical that you have a website so that you can completely control the purchase.

Establish Credibility

“46% of people say a website’s design is the number one criterion they use to discern the credibility of a company. “ – Now think about that for a second, what if you don’t even have a website? That’s right, in the eyes of 46% of people that go looking for your company online you have little or no credibility.

Your website is often the easiest yardstick to compare two companies, and customers will use it to determine who they want to do business with if they’re on the fence. Regardless of your industry, your customers are looking online and will view your website to establish credibility and trust for your business.

To Generate Leads

If you’re in a competitive niche, you can be sure that your competitors are using the web to generate leads. This is from a variety of sources, such as paid traffic (Google Ads, Facebook Ads etc.) through to organic searches (SEO). Your website acts as a ‘net’ to capture the details of these people. This can be done by having someone request a quote, or having a strong Call-To-Action (CTA) that drives them to pick up the phone and give you a call, or even as simple as collecting their email address to add to your Newsletter Email list. Regardless of the lead capture process, it is all impossible without actually having a website.

Be Seen by Potential Customers

Let’s say you own “Bob’s Automotive”, and you have done an outstanding job for one of your customers. They overhear their friend at a barbecue saying they need a new mechanic – and they quickly recommend your services to their friend. They don’t have your business card handy or your contact details – so they simply say “Just Google Bob’s Automotive” without ever thinking about whether or not you have a website up – they just assume you do, as most businesses dothese days.

This potential customer jumps onto Google, and types in “Bob’s Automotive”, and you’re nowhere to be found. At best you may have a listing on Yellow Pages – but guess what Yellow Pages surrounds your information with? Your competitors information, with bits like “Similar Businesses Nearby” – they’re throwing your direct competitors straight in the face of your potential client.

Worse still, they may not even make it to your Yellow Pages listing; as you don’t have a website, they simply click on a competitor that is doing Google Adwords and targeting anyone looking for a mechanic in your area – driving the competitor straight to their website. This is, unfortunately, a lost customer purely because you didn’t have a website. And you know it’s not just this one time, it’s been happening over and over again ever since you opened up business and started delivering your outstanding product or service.

In Summary, do I need a Website?

So you’ve seen some of the reasons why other people purchase websites, but is a website really a necessity for your business? Well, it is if any of the following matter to you:

You want to appear credible in your industry

You want to be found in search results

You want to sell online, or generate leads for your business

You want your contact information to easily be found by anyone that is looking

If you’re still on the fence, please feel free to Contact Us and have a chat with one of our truly friendly staff, we would be glad to help. We’re happy to educate you and have a friendly chat about how a website could dramatically help your business.

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This website was designed & developed by Black Lion Digital here in Newcastle and we loved every minute of it! We believe in creating the best websites possible for our clients within their budget. Our vision is to fill the internet with amazing websites!